Confusion surrounds A-10 replacement
Final presentations on proposed
close-air-support / battlefield-
interdiction CAS/BAI aircraft
for the US Air Force have been
made by Boeing, General
Dynamics, Lockheed, McDon
nell Douglas, Northrop, and
Rockwell International.
Amid the confusion sur
rounding a replacement for its
651 surviving Fairchild A-10
Thunderbolts, the US Air Force
postponed selection of a new
close-air-support aircraft until
January 20, when President
elect George Bush and his new
defence team take the reins.
Under $10 million close-air-
support design alternative stud
ies, the companies produced a
wide range of aircraft concepts.
Contractors were guided by Air
Force Systems Command's
mission requirements package,
a secret document that defined
the close-air-support and
battlefield-interdiction missions
for seven scenarios.
Each scenario (four of which
were Central European) was
related to a different type of
theatre and particular threats
and targets, a General Dynam
ics official tells Flight. "We
were funded to look at a five-
step spectrum, ranging from a
very austere airplane to an
extremely capable new airplane,
in stepped-up increments."
The aircraft were required to
carry six 5001b bombs for 250
n.m., to operate from fixed
bases, to be able to interdict
with enhancements, and to
have a turn rate of 10°-20°/sec.
All had to be able to fly both
British Aerospace is understood to have submitted a close-air-support aircraft
proposal, which, it claims, almost exactly fits the CAS-X requirement
close-air-support and battlefield
interdiction missions.
"The very austere airplane
was a fairly small turboprop that
was a flying cannon-carrier and
'Mud Fighter','' says GD. "The
most sophisticated aircraft was a
very capable 'Stealthy' airplane
with very high survivability that
concentrated on low observ-
ables. Aeronautical Systems
Division intended that the A-10
replacement would fly mostly
close air support, with battle
field interdiction as a secondary
mission. That's because the Air
Force would mainly use its
F-15s, F-16s, and A-7s for
battlefield interdiction."
All of the options were
measured and scored. "The
A-16 came out best," says Gen
Bernard Randolph, Comman
der of Air Force Systems
Command. He says that the Air
Force needs about 720 A-16s to
equip ten wings of active-duty,
reserve, and Air National Guard
forces. The A-16 would not be
as heavily armoured as the
A-10. Instead, it would use
speed and manoeuvrability to
avoid being hit.
Tactical Air Command chief
Gen Robert Russ and his
deputy, Gen Jimmie Adams, are
outspoken in their choice of the
F-16 derivative as an A-10
successor, but Pentagon offi
cials and Congress have with
held support. The Deputy
Under-Secretary of Defence for
Tactical Warfare Programmes,
Donald Fredriksen, prefers a
sturdier, more agile close-air-
support aircraft than the A-16.
Fredriksen says that the A-16
airframe would be nine times
more vulnerable to ground fire
than the A-10. This is denied by
General Dynamics.
The US Department of
Defence's Tactical Warfare and
Policy Analysis and Evaluation
Office advocates CAS-X, a
"clean-sheet-of-paper" aircraft
with a 10,0001b-20,0001b gross
weight. It insists that CAS-X
would be more capable than the
A-16, the Army's AH-64A
Apache, or its future LHX.
CAS-X would be both more
survivable and more agile than
the A-16 or A-10, the DoD says.
The CAS-X would have a
smaller infrared signature, be
resistant to small-arms fire
(under 23mm calibre), operate
from grass fields, and be able to
loiter for two hours 200 n.m.
from base. It would be equipped
with a 30mm cannon, and cost
less than either the A-10 or
AH-64A, the DoD says.
Congress has its own solution
to CAS. It favours modifying
existing aircraft for the close-
air-support role and flying them
off competitively. In the 1989
defence budget Congress
ordered the DoD to prepare
plans for a flyoff of candidates
by March 31, 1989. Contenders
would include the A-7+
Corsair, A-10 Thunderbolt,
F-16 Fighting Falcon, and
AV-8B Harrier II, and "any
others available".
RAF introduces
reconnaissance Tornado
The Royal Air Force's first
Panavia Tornado recon
naissance unit, 2 Sqn, has
formed in West Germany. The
Tornadoes are to replace
Jaguars and provide NATO's
day/night, all-weather recon
naissance capability.
The RAF Tornado electrical-
optical reconnaissance system
uses an infrared linescanner for
horizon-to-horizon coverage,
together with two sideways-
looking thermal imagers. All
three electro-optical sensors can
be monitored by the Tornado
navigator using one of the
aircraft's two video-cassette
recorders. Tactical information
can then be relayed to a ground
station by radar. The UK Minis
try of Defence is believed to
have approved funds for the
development of a real-time
reconnaissance datalink.
The Tornado reconnaissance
suite and the USA's new
advanced tactical airborne
reconnaissance system both use
the same Computing Devices
reconnaissance monitoring
system, which can be activated
manually or operated auto
matically.
Israeli defence cuts
challenged
Israeli defence minister Yitzhak
Rabin is trying to prevent
proposed cuts in the defence
budget. The Israeli Treasury
wants to cut the budget by some
$260 million in 1989. The
planned cut is a 10 per cent
reduction on 1988's budget.
The cuts comprise a reduc
tion in the normal defence
budget and a refusal to compen
sate the Israeli Defence Forces
for the extra cost of handling
the uprising in the occupied
territories. Rabin says that the
proposed cuts will further
reduce the number of aircraft,
ships, and other main battle
systems, and will cause addi
tional damage to the already
beaten defence industries. "We
have already reduced the size of
our Air Force, Navy, and
Armoured Corps. The defence
industries suffered a severe
blow. There is no way to further
reduce the already shrinked
defence budget," Rabin says.
The Israeli defence minister
says that in order to carry out
the Defence Force's recently
prepared multiyear plan there is
a need for an increase of $200
million in the defence budget.
FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 14 January 1989 9